Animation is one of the most lucrative fields in digital media today. People are stumbling over each other in theatre queues to watch the likes of Finding Nemo and Ice Age. Creating animations is one of the world’s most difficult tasks. However, there are people who seem to be so good at it that they make it appear to be some effortless activity. Watch any one of the popular animation films or cartoon episodes and you will see just how creative this world can be.
Difficulties of creating animation
Just like in game design, animated movies rely heavily on the graphics. Without good graphics, then there is nothing to be watched. There are some animated movies that simply make you wonder whether your screen is the one that is damaged or aged. The quality of the graphics has improved over the years because there is technology available to make things easier.
Now there are TV commercials that are solely animated. The quality of the commercials is really good. A few years ago, the kind of animation quality available today was just but a dream. Among the oldest animations is probably Looney Tunes. This show has been around since the early parts of the new millennium. This was the time when creating animation involved drawing thousands of pictures of the same thing in different positions. The computers came in to make work easier.
Or is it? Make an animated movies list and try scrutinizing the quality of each. You are bound to note some slight difference in some of them. The ability of the animators is evident in their work. The hardest part in animation is probably the rendering of the images. Animators require excellent computation skills, which make the rendering less tedious and more successful.
Becoming an animator
You can become an animator quite easily. In fact, it is one of the fastest growing areas in the film industry. If you will not be creating films, then you will most likely be dealing with video games or commercials. Animations are on high demand and if you can create them then there are jobs available for you.
The process of becoming an animator will involve you attaining a bachelor’s degree in something like graphic design or its relatives. This is what most companies ask for. There are individuals with degrees in psychology, English literature and so forth, but they still do animation work. How do they land here? These are people who teach themselves or find someone to train them in the trade. It is so lucrative that people get attracted to it from afar.
Nevertheless, as with many other artistic jobs, animation work is not all about getting into the industry and starting to earn the huge money. Films like Despicable Me are going to gross in millions, but you do not expect this to happen for your work overnight. It takes a lot of practice and patience so that you get to witness the results that you are looking for.
Guest article written by: Freda Higgins is a blogger on films and TV series content. She loves animated films a lot and her blog contains a comprehensive animated movies list and down-to-earth reviews of the same.